Ameriflex Group Inc. Has $2.60 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Ameriflex Group Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,640 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.4% of Ameriflex Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,548 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,737,000 after buying an additional 7,066 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the second quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.9% in the second quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.8% in the second quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,278,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the second quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 22,420 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,194,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $915.38 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $953.54 and its 200 day moving average is $971.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $405.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.